Department of Cannabis Control detectives, with Long Beach law enforcement, prepare to serve a search warrant on an unlicensed marijuana store in Long Beach, Calif., on March 5, 2024. Last year California's Cannabis Enforcement Taskforce served more than 300 search warrants on unlicensed operations in the state.
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Alisha Jucevic for NPR
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Topline:
In the decade since the first states legalized recreational marijuana, about half the country has moved to allow adults to buy regulated pot from authorized sources. In California, where voters approved recreational pot in 2016, state officials readily acknowledge the industry still operates mostly in the shadows.
Why it matters: California is the biggest example of the unfulfilled promise of a legitimate cannabis market. Some entrepreneurs blame high taxes and start-up costs for licensed producers and retailers. Smaller operators often have trouble getting access to capital, as the continued federal prohibition on the marijuana business makes it virtually impossible for them to tap into traditional financial services.
What is being done about it: In California, the Department of Cannabis Control is now trying to close the gap. It gathers anonymous tips about unlicensed cannabis stores, which operate semi-openly out of storefronts that aren't hard to identify.
A funny thing happened on the way to cannabis legalization: illegal pot is still big business.
In the decade since the first states legalized recreational marijuana, about half the country has moved to allow adults to buy regulated pot from authorized sources. But in some states, that's been more theory than practice.
In New York, which legalized marijuana in 2021, retail sales are dominated by ubiquitous illegal "smoke shops," while the state struggles to license legitimate ones. Governor Kathy Hochul has called the transition "a disaster," and has pledged to crack down on the illegal sellers.
In Maine, the congressional delegation last summer asked the Justice Department for help in combatting illegal cannabis producers, who outnumber the state's licensed operations and are believed to be funded in part by Chinese investors.
Wilson Linares, commander of the L.A. County law enforcement division of the California Department of Cannabis Control, heads to the location to serve a search warrant on an unlicensed cannabis store in Long Beach, Calif., on March 5, 2024.
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Alisha Jucevic for NPR
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And in California, where voters approved recreational pot in 2016, state officials readily acknowledge the industry still operates mostly in the shadows.
"The black market is very pervasive and it's definitely larger than the legal market," says Bill Jones, the head of enforcement for the state's Department of Cannabis Control.
California is the biggest example of the unfulfilled promise of a legitimate cannabis market. Some entrepreneurs blame high taxes and start-up costs for licensed producers and retailers. Smaller operators often have trouble getting access to capital, as the continued federal prohibition on the marijuana business makes it virtually impossible for them to tap into traditional financial services.
Wilson Linares, commander of the L.A. County law enforcement division of the California Dept. of Cannabis Control, shows a sampling of the unlicensed cannabis edibles seized from a black market store in Long Beach, Calif., on March 5.
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Alisha Jucevic for NPR
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Jones, however, focuses on what law enforcement did — or rather, what it didn't do — in the first few years after the vote to allow a licensed weed industry.
"Most jurisdictions — local jurisdictions — police or sheriff's departments and district attorney's offices, were very reluctant to do any kind of enforcement on cannabis," he says. "It really created an air of impunity, and the unlicensed activity really skyrocketed."
Washington state, by contrast, maintained law enforcement pressure on illegal marijuana after voters legalized pot in 2012, which gave the new licensed industry time to establish itself.
Passersby watch as California Department of Cannabis Control detectives, with support of Long Beach Law enforcement, serve a search warrant on an unlicensed dispensary in Long Beach, Calif., on March 5, 2024. Like many unlicensed cannabis stores, this one is unmarked and still has signage from a previous business. Photo by Alisha Jucevic for NPR
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Alisha Jucevic for NPR
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In California, the DCC is now trying to close the gap. It gathers anonymous tips about unlicensed cannabis stores, which operate semi-openly out of storefronts that aren't hard to identify.
"They'll occupy buildings [where] the business itself has moved or is out of business," says Wilson Linares, the DCC's head of enforcement for the Los Angeles area. His officers and local police recently raided a shabby storefront in Long Beach. The sign reads "Flores Cabinets," but inside they find cannabis edibles for sale, as well as loose marijuana flowers, sold in jars — a practice called "deli style," prohibited under California's cannabis regulations.
Linares says some of the unlicensed stores are identified with the green cross emblem, borrowed from the medical marijuana movement that predated recreational stores. Another clue, though, is the level of security. The ostensible cabinet store in Long Beach has a heavy metal door and security grates over mirrored windows.
California Department of Cannabis Control detectives lock the premises after serving a search warrant on an unlicensed dispensary in Long Beach, Calif., on March 5, 2024. The penalty for unlicensed cannabis sales is usually a fine, and officers raid the some addresses over and over.
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Alisha Jucevic for NPR
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"One of the biggest things that you can see is the cameras. The building itself is old but the cameras are new. That's a pretty good indicator for us," Linares says.
These raids have ramped up in the last couple of years, especially in Los Angeles. Some of the unlicensed retailers have shifted toward delivery services. But the penalty for getting caught selling unlicensed marijuana is relatively light — usually a $500 fine, unless the person has broken other laws — and Linares says his officers find themselves raiding the same storefronts over and over again.
"These places don't pay taxes, it doesn't help provide services for the people who live around here," Linares says. "And the individuals who run these places, they're often not the best," he says. "Gangs and organized crime."
This doesn't come as much of a surprise to an economist.
Unlicensed cannabis products removed from a black market store in Long Beach, Calif. The products will be destroyed.
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"The black market becomes more competitive," says Tiffanie Perrault, a postdoctoral researcher at McGill University in Montreal who studies cannabis markets. She says it's understandable why illegal marijuana expanded in California after legalization.
"You remove risk — because you know, it's legal — so you have more consumers," she says. "And at the same time, your black market is going to react strategically by adjusting prices and levels of quality."
The black market in California also benefits from the restrictions on the licensed competitors, such as the fact that only about 40% of local jurisdictions in California permit cannabis stores. That leaves the other 60% to the retailers who don't wait for official approval.
California cannabis buyers are often unaware of — or indifferent to — the legality of the product they buy, but they do notice prices. Depending on the jurisdiction, taxes on licensed pot can reach 38%.
California Department of Cannabis Control detectives, with support of Long Beach Law enforcement serve a search warrant and remove cannabis products at an unlicensed dispensary in Long Beach, Calif., on March 5, 2024.
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Alisha Jucevic for NPR
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"I got a disposable and some edibles," says Camerin Remmington as he exits an authorized store on the edge of town in Riverside. "It's almost 60 bucks for two items. It's a little more expensive here!"
He says he appreciates the fact that the licensed products are tested for quality.
"You know it is what it is," he says. "You can't go wrong with it!"
But with cannabis, legality for its own sake is not a concern for Remmington. He volunteers that he grew it illegally on his land in the high desert during the post-legalization boom a couple of years ago. He says it made money, until police showed up a year and a half ago.
"We got ticketed for it, for having a couple of processed plants, but they didn't catch the bulk of anything," he says. When he showed up for his court date, the case appeared to be a low priority. "They didn't even know who we were!"
Riverside County Sheriff Department Sergeant Jeremy Parsons collects cannabis clippings and firearms from an unlicensed greenhouse in Perris, CA.
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Those raids are still happening in rural Riverside County. On a Tuesday morning, the sheriff's department's Marijuana Enforcement Team leads a ten-vehicle convoy through the outskirts of the town of Perris. They're following up on a tip about a house hidden at the end of a private drive. The operation commander, Sgt. Jeremy Parsons, comes out to the main road to report that it is, indeed, an illegal grow.
"When we went up to the house we could smell marijuana. We found a greenhouse in the backyard which contained a few hundred small marijuana plants," he says. They also found guns, and they run the names of two people on the site to see if either one is a felon, and not allowed to have a firearm.
"There's not a lot of criminal consequences [for illegally growing marijuana]," Parsons says. But the strategy here is to try to charge growers with other crimes — that's why the convoy of vehicles was so long, as it included people from California Fish and Wildlife, the local water board and even code inspectors.
"That's what we're charging these people with: water contamination, pesticides that are illegal, the fertilizers that are illegal. That's where we're getting people," says Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco.
But for Bianco, the bigger issue is legalization itself. He's against it, because he believes it encourages the illegal pot farms in the hills of Riverside County.
"It made it worse. One hundred percent, it made it worse," he says.
A big problem, as he sees it, is exports. California has become a major exporter to states where marijuana is still illegal — and fetches a higher price — despite the warning from the Justice Department back when legalization got started that the states that legalize pot should make sure to keep it inside their borders.
Bianco says the marijuana gold rush has attracted Mexican drug cartels and Asian human smuggling rings.
"I mean, we've had multiple, multiple homicides, we've had multiple kidnappings, we've had multiple reports of human trafficking and rapes and the punishments that go with not doing your job — and it's all related to this," Bianco says.
Back at the DCC, Bill Jones says he thinks legalization was, as he puts it, "imperative," but he also believes it should be possible eventually to curb the black market.
"I think it's doable. But it's going to take a lot of resources and consistent enforcement over years to get our arms around this," Jones says.
Fresh Air film critic Justin Chang says most of his favorite films this year were made overseas, including his No. 1 pick, Sirāt.
The bad news: Anyone will tell you that these are tumultuous, borderline-apocalyptic times for the film industry. Box office is down. The threat of AI looms. Billionaires and tech giants are laying waste to what remains of the major Hollywood studios.
The good news: Chang says he saw more terrific new movies this year than any year since before the pandemic. True, most of those movies weren't from here, but all of them played in U.S. theaters in 2025, and all of them are well worth seeking out in the weeks and months to come.
Read on ... for the list and trailers.
Anyone will tell you that these are tumultuous, borderline-apocalyptic times for the film industry. Box office is down. The threat of AI looms. Billionaires and tech giants are laying waste to what remains of the major Hollywood studios. I'm not entirely sure how to square all this bad news with my own good news, which is that I saw more terrific new movies this year than I have any year since before the pandemic. True, most of those movies weren't from here, but all of them played in U.S. theaters in 2025, and all of them are well worth seeking out in the weeks and months to come.
The best new movie I saw this year is a breakthrough work from a gifted Spanish filmmaker named Oliver Laxe. It's a nail-biting survival thriller, set in the desert of southern Morocco during what feels like the end-times. It's a little Mad Max, a little Wages of Fear, and all in all, the most exhilarating and devastating two hours I experienced in a theater this year. Sirāt also features the year's best original score, composed by the electronic musician Kangding Ray.
Paul Thomas Anderson's much-loved, much-debated reimagining of Thomas Pynchon's novel Vineland is an exuberant mash-up of action-thriller and political satire. One Battle After Another stars Leonardo DiCaprio in one of his best and funniest performances as an aging revolutionary drawn back into the field. He leads an ensemble that includes Teyana Taylor, Benicio del Toro, Sean Penn, Regina Hall and the terrific discovery, Chase Infiniti.
Caught by the Tides is an unclassifiable hybrid of fiction and nonfiction from the Chinese director Jia Zhangke. Drawn from a mix of archival footage and newly shot material, it's a one-of-a-kind portrait of the myriad transformations that China has gone through over the past two decades.
4. Resurrection
Resurrection, another structurally bold Chinese title, is a bit like an Avatar moviefor film buffs. Placing us in the head of a shapeshifting protagonist, the director, Bi Gan, takes us on a gorgeous, dreamlike odyssey through various cinema genres, from historical spy drama to vampire thriller.
My No. 5 movie is the year's best documentary: My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow, from the director Julia Loktev. It's a sprawling yet intimate portrait of several Russian independent journalists in the harrowing months leading up to President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. As a portrait of anti-authoritarian resistance, it pairs nicely with my No. 6 movie.
The Secret Agent is an emotionally rich, sneakily funny and continually surprising drama from the director Kleber Mendonça Filho. Set in 1977, it lays bare the personal cost of dissidence during Brazil's military dictatorship.
7. Sound of Falling
Although not a horror film, exactly, this German drama qualifies as the best and spookiest haunted-house movie I've seen this year. Directed by Mascha Schilinski, Sound of Falling teases out the connections among four generations of girls and young women who have passed through the same remote farmhouse.
8. April
April, from the director Dea Kulumbegashvili, is a tough, bleak, but utterly hypnotic portrait of a skilled OB-GYN trying to provide health care for women in a conservative East Georgian village. It may be set far from the U.S., but the difficulties these women face would resonate in any setting.
Directed by Rungano Nyoni, this Zambian film is a subtly mesmerizing drama about a death that takes place in a middle-class household, setting off a chain of dark revelations that threaten to tear a family apart.
It Was Just an Accident, which won the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival, is a shattering moral thriller from the Iranian director Jafar Panahi. It centers on a group of former political prisoners who are given a rare chance at retribution. In the past, Panahi has been a prisoner in Iran himself, and earlier this month, the government sentenced the director in absentia to a year in prison. I hope that Panahi never sees the inside of a jail cell again, and that his movie is seen as far and wide as possible.
Copyright 2025 NPR
Robert Garrova
explores the weird and secret bits of SoCal that would excite even the most jaded Angelenos. He also covers mental health.
Published December 13, 2025 5:00 AM
Interior of Healing Force of the Universe records in Pasadena, where a benefit concert is held on Sunday to help fire survivors build back their record collections.
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Erin Grace Kim
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Topline:
This Sunday, a special donation concert at Pasadena's Healing Force of the Universe record store helps fire survivors get their vinyl record collections back.
The backstory: The record donation effort is the brainchild of musician Brandon Jay, who founded the nonprofit Altadena Musicians after losing his home and almost all of his family’s musical instruments in the Eaton Fire. Now, he has turned his efforts on rebuilding people's lost record collections.
Read on ... to find details of the show happening Sunday.
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena and Pasadena’s music community have really shown up to support fire survivors, especially fellow musicians who lost instruments and record collections.
That effort continues this weekend with a special donation concert at a Pasadena record store, with the aim of getting vinyl records back in the hands of survivors who lost their collections.
“You know, our name is Healing Force of the Universe, and I think that gives me a pretty clear direction… especially after the fires,” said Austin Manuel, founder of Pasadena record store, where Sunday’s show will be held.
The record donation effort is the brainchild of musician Brandon Jay, who founded the nonprofit Altadena Musicians after losing his home and almost all of his family’s instruments in the Eaton Fire. Through Altadena Musicians’s donation and registry platform, Jay said he and his partners have helped some 1,200 fire survivors get their music instruments back.
Brandon Jay.
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Now, that effort has fanned out to restoring vinyl record collections.
“All of that stuff evaporated for thousands of people,” Jay said. “Look at your own record collection and be like, ‘Wow, what if that whole thing disappeared?’”
You might know Jay from several bands over the years, including Lutefisk, a 1990s alt-rock band based in Los Angeles. He and his wife, Gwendolyn Sanford, composed music for TV shows, including Orange is the New Black and Weeds.
Jay plans to play some holiday tunes at Sunday's record donation show (which LAist is the media sponsor), along with fellow musician Daniel Brummel of Sanglorians. Brummel, who was also a founding member of Pasadena’s indie-rock sensation Ozma, said he was grateful to Jay for his fire recovery work and to Manuel for making Healing Force available for shows like this.
Brummel, who came close to losing his own home in the Eaton Fire, recalled a show he played at Healing Force back in March.
Ryen Slegr (left) and Daniel Brummel perform with their band, Ozma, on the 2014 Weezer Cruise.
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“The trauma of the fires was still really fresh,” Brummel said. After playing a cover of Rufus Wainwright’s “Going to a Town,” that night — which includes the lyrics “I’m going to a town that has already been burnt down” — Brummel said his neighbors in the audience told him the rendition hit them hard. “It felt really powerful. And without that space, it just wouldn’t have occurred.”
Details
Healing Force of the Universe Record Donation Show Featuring: Quasar (aka Brandon Jay), Sanglorians (Daniel Brummel) and The Acrylic. Sunday, Dec. 14; 2 to 5 p.m. 1200 E. Walnut St., Pasadena Tickets are $15 or you can donate 5 or more records at the door. More info here.
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Fire department honored with 'Award of Excellence'
Makenna Sievertson
covers the daily drumbeat of Southern California — events, processes and nuances making it a unique place to call home.
Published December 12, 2025 4:30 PM
The "Award of Excellence Star" honoring the Los Angeles Fire Department on Friday.
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Matt Winkelmeyer
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Getty Images
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Topline:
The Hollywood Walk of Fame has a new neighbor — a star dedicated to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Why it matters: The Fire Department has been honored with an “Award of Excellence Star” for its public service during the Palisades and Sunset fires, which burned in the Pacific Palisades and Hollywood Hills neighborhoods of L.A. in January.
Why now: The star was unveiled on Hollywood Boulevard on Friday at a ceremony hosted by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and Hollywood Community Foundation.
Awards of Excellence celebrate organizations for their positive impacts on Hollywood and the entertainment industry, according to organizers. Fewer than 10 have been handed out so far, including to the LA Times, Dodgers and Disneyland.
The backstory: The idea of awarding a star to the Fire Department was prompted by an eighth-grade class essay from Eniola Taiwo, 14, from Connecticut. In an essay on personal heroes, Taiwo called for L.A. firefighters to be recognized. She sent the letter to the Chamber of Commerce.
“This star for first responders will reach the hearts of many first responders and let them know that what they do is recognized and appreciated,” Taiwo’s letter read. “It will also encourage young people like me to be a change in the world.”
LAFD Chief Jaime E. Moore, Eniola Taiwo and LAFD firefighters with the "Award of Excellence Star" Friday.
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Matt Winkelmeyer
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Getty Images North America
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The Award of Excellence Star is in front of the Ovation Entertainment Complex next to the Walk of Fame; however, it is separate from the official program.
What officials say: Steve Nissen, president and CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement Taiwo’s letter was the inspiration for a monument that will “forever shine in Hollywood.”
“This recognition is not only about honoring the bravery of the Los Angeles Fire Department but also about celebrating the vision of a young student whose words reminded us all of the importance of gratitude and civic pride,” said Nissen, who’s also president and CEO of the Hollywood Community Foundation.
L.A. City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto was accused of an ethics breach in a case the city settled for $18 million.
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Carlin Stiehl
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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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Topline:
Fallout from allegations of an ethics breach by Los Angeles’ elected city attorney has reached the City Council. Councilmember Ysabel Jurado introduced a motion Friday requesting a closed-session meeting about an allegation that City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto improperly contacted a witness days before her office entered into one of the city’s biggest settlements in recent years. The motion came a day after LAist reported about the allegation.
The case: In September, the city settled a lawsuit brought forward by two brothers in their 70s who said they suffered serious injuries after an LAPD officer crashed into their car. Days before the $18 million settlement was reached, lawyers for the brothers said Feldstein Soto called an expert witness testifying for the plaintiffs and “attempted to ingratiate herself with him and asked him to make a contribution to her political campaign,” according to a sworn declaration to the court by the plaintiffs’ attorney, Robert Glassman.
The response: Feldstein Soto did not respond to an interview request. Her spokesperson said the settlement “had nothing to do” with the expert witness. Her campaign manager told LAist the city attorney had been making a routine fundraising call and did not know the person had a role in the case, nor that there were pending requests for her office to pay him fees.
What Jurado says: In a statement to LAist, Jurado said she wants to “make sure that the city’s legal leadership is guided by integrity and accountability, especially when their choices affect public trust, civic rights and the city’s limited resources."
What’s next: The motion needs to go through a few committees before reaching the full City Council. If it passes, the motion calls for the city attorney to “report to council in closed session within 45 days regarding the ethics breach violation and give updates to the City Council."
Topline:
Fallout from allegations of an ethics breach by Los Angeles’ elected city attorney has reached the City Council. Councilmember Ysabel Jurado introduced a motion Friday requesting a closed-session meeting about an allegation that City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto improperly contacted a witness days before her office entered into one of the city’s biggest settlements in recent years. The motion came a day after LAist reported about the allegation.
The case: In September, the city settled a lawsuit brought forward by two brothers in their 70s who said they suffered serious injuries after an LAPD officer crashed into their car. Days before the $18 million settlement was reached, lawyers for the brothers said Feldstein Soto called an expert witness testifying for the plaintiffs and “attempted to ingratiate herself with him and asked him to make a contribution to her political campaign,” according to a sworn declaration to the court by the plaintiffs’ attorney, Robert Glassman.
The response: Feldstein Soto did not respond to an interview request. Her spokesperson said the settlement “had nothing to do” with the expert witness. Her campaign manager told LAist the city attorney had been making a routine fundraising call and did not know the person had a role in the case, nor that there were pending requests for her office to pay him fees.
What Jurado says: In a statement to LAist, Jurado said she wants to “make sure that the city’s legal leadership is guided by integrity and accountability, especially when their choices affect public trust, civic rights and the city’s limited resources."
What’s next: The motion needs to go through a few committees before reaching the full City Council. If it passes, the motion calls for the city attorney to “report to council in closed session within 45 days regarding the ethics breach violation and give updates to the City Council."
